Barcelona Blog
Raphinha did not succeed in putting an end to the doubts around him. Although he starred and put in a good performance in the win against Real Betis, scored a goal and was positively involved, the truth is that he still delivers below the level of expectations he generated with his arrival.
He still has a lot of work to do to compensate for the nearly 60 million euros that Barcelona paid to sign him, and so far he has not established himself as a key player in Xavi’s team.
Although Ousmane Dembele’s injury opened the doors for him and he once again had a good chance to claim a starting place, it seemed difficult for him to impress Xavi Hernandez, who was quite skeptical of the Brazil international’s abilities.
The Catalan coach did not trust him, he did so only in the first few weeks after his accession, and he demands much more from him than he gives. The idea of selling it is still on the table.
Juan Laporta and Mathieu Alemany consider the best thing to do is to get rid of the player who was considered one of the most prominent stars in the Premier League, and who still has many offers in England.
However, teams that had shown interest in the former Leeds United, Stade Rennes and Sporting Lisbon player were not willing to make more than €35m an offer to sign him.
At the Camp Nou, they are confident that Rafinha will be able to prove himself until the end of the current season, and re-evaluate himself enough to be able to recoup a significant part of the investment they have made.
So far, his numbers are just as bad, he’s only been able to visit opponents’ net on five occasions and provide seven assists in the 28 games he’s been involved in. Some numbers are far from what the previous year achieved.
He will have to improve a lot if he is to continue another year at Barcelona, and he faces a crucial few months to earn the right to do so.
It must be borne in mind that Raphinha was never a request from Xavi, who was satisfied with the renewal of Dembele’s contract and the presence of Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati in the team. But it was a bet by the Barcelona board, who thought it was an incredible boost.
It is for this reason that Laporta and Alemany have made efforts to sign the 26-year-old winger, who has so far been unable to restore the trust they have placed in him.
Source: El Nacional
